


Rough Sketch

by Checklatechippancakes



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Art Class AU, Counterpartshipping Week, High School AU, M/M, Yuuto gets no personality in canon so he's my playground now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 03:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15810753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Checklatechippancakes/pseuds/Checklatechippancakes
Summary: Yuuya (unwillingly) takes art class. Only there does he get to meet a mysterious boy. Oh, and make art, of course.





	Rough Sketch

**Author's Note:**

> Counterpartshipping Week 2018; Day 7: Horizon  
> (Sorry I didn't make anything until today! I swore I'd write something, hope it makes up for my silence!)

Art wasn’t Yuuya’s first choice for an elective. He initially wanted gym or home ec (mostly because he knew Yuzu and Sora were there and he could goof off with them) but they both filled up too quickly. So here he was, sitting on little stools, a pencil resting between his nose and upper lip. The teacher was spending a majority of the class just saying what art “was” rather than, well,  _ let them do anything.  _ Not that it really mattered, since Yuuya wasn’t exactly confident with his skill in art.

Sitting next to him was a boy that everyone said was probably his secret twin, even if he didn’t get it. Their... eyes were so… different. And their hair. ...okay, Yuuya couldn’t really think of any other differences, but he was  _ nothing  _ like him.

Suddenly, the mysterious ‘twin’ turned to him. Did he read his mind? There was that one girl who always talked about her future vision, was he like her? “Sakaki?” He asked, eyes following the dropped pencil. 

“Uhh, yeah?” Some reason, he couldn’t remember his last name. Kurosaki? No, that was that girl he sometimes hung out with, as well as that graduate he was friends with.  _ Come on Yuuya, think! _

“We’re supposed to draw the person next to us.” He pulled out his own paper, making some rough marks. “Don’t worry, I was barely paying attention too.”

Yuuya looked at the boy, already deep into his drawing, occasionally looking up and squinting at him. It was in Yuuya’s best interest to not focus on his name, but rather draw. He looked down at his blank sheet. Where was he supposed to start? The face? Hair? Yuuya stared intently, already out of ideas.

He decided with the hair. That was the greatest difference between them. The less he looked at his face, the less he could agree they looked the same. The boy had black and purple hair, and everything looked dangerously pointy. Yuuya could probably cut himself if he  _ looked  _ at it wrong.

As Yuuya finished the final part of hair, the teacher told them to finish and trade with their partner. “Sorry, I didn’t finish,” Yuuya said nervously. Was it weird to have only drawn his hair? How far did  _ he  _ get?

“Neither did I,” the other boy said, handing the his paper. Well, at least that was a relief for Yuuya. “Maybe if he talked less we could- is my hair really that sharp?”

One of Yuuya’s hand ran through his hair, the other accepting the paper. “Maybe? Sorry, I’m not really that into art-” Yuuya’s eyes laid on the drawing, silently staring. There were probably a million words to describe the drawing, but Yuuya couldn’t formulate even one.

“Oh, I’m into drawing abstract.” Well,  _ that  _ explained the obscure lines. “I drew your eyes different sizes because you seem unsure, like you’re set on different things, as if your body is home to two souls, rather than one.” (Yuuya figured that was an excuse, even if he did read him well) “I don’t really ‘do’ portraits, anyways. I could do something better on my own time.”

The two packed up. “Want to sit together next art class? Maybe I could even finish your picture sometime?”

The boy nodded. “Of course! None of my friends took art anyways, so it’s not like I’d be avoiding them.” He turned the corner, popping his head back. “Oh, and you can call me ‘Yuuto’.”

Well, that took care of the name thing. “Mine is Yuuya!” He called, hoping Yuuto would hear him.

Every art class, Yuuya and Yuuto sat together. Yuuya figured he was more into drawing cartoon animals than anything human or machine. His favourite was a pink hippo he designed, which had a little top hat and heart shaped tail. Yuuto laughed at its name, saying it was more of a “Hip Hippo” rather than a “Discover Hippo”. Yuuya rolled his eyes, but did appreciate the feedback.

Yuuto was still into drawing abstract stuff. Modern art, possibly. Yuuya had absolutely no idea what he was going off about, saying how each component was pivotal, and symbolic to something. Well, if he said so. It wasn’t like Yuuya was an art connoisseur. He couldn’t help but smile, seeing Yuuto be so passionate about something.

After a few weeks, Yuuto brought in some of his own personal art. One in particular was  _ very  _ black and red, occasionally splashed with some emerald. “Is this  _ real  _ blood?”

“Oh, nono,” Yuuto said with a shake of his head. “Blood turns  _ brown  _ when it dries.” Yuuya paled.  _ Why did he know that? _ “Shun asked me to draw him, and here it is. Well, not ‘him’, but this was the feeling I got from him.” He looked abnormally sheepish. “I had to practically beg him to get it back to show you. He really cherishes it.”

Yuuya blinked, looking at the painting. “You really wanted to show me this, huh.”

Yuuto’s face fell. “Of course, you mean a lot to me, Yuuya. Do you not want to see the others? Don’t worry, I won’t be offended.”

“That’s not what I meant! I!” Yuuya didn’t even recognize that his comment could be taken that way. “I’m just… really  flattered. Not a lot of people put that kinda effort into showing me things.” Yuuya uncovered another drawing. It was much lighter in colour, mixes of purples and tans, a swipe of blue here and there. In the corner a pink heart. “Is this another one of Shun?” Yuuya joked.

Yuuto plucked the drawing out of Yuuya’s hand. “Uh, don’t worry about that one.” He bit his lip, digging at the skin. “I... thought I got rid of that one.” Rather than throw it out, risking the chance of Yuuya digging it out of the trash (which he knew Yuuya would, as Yuuya was  _ very  _ familiar with digging through trash, often losing his necklace) he shoved it in the pile. “I read her wrong anyways.”

Everything in Yuuya’s heart wanted him to press on. Was it the heart? Read her wrong? Who was she? Who broke his heart? “Uhh,” Yuuya picked up a different drawing. Purple and a lot of black. “This a reading of yourself?”

Yuuto’s frown went away. “Yeah, one of my first paintings. It’s not very polished, since it’s my early work.” Yuuya didn’t comment that he couldn’t tell what was ‘polished’ and what was ‘a 10 minute drawing’, but. 

The weeks continued on, Yuuto bringing in any drawings or paintings he did in his free time, Yuuya continuing to create new cartoon animal designs. He’d always share them to Yuuto, who would give colour scheme suggestions. Purple cobras. Yellow and red snakes. Blue swordfish. His ideas with Yuuya’s designs blended so well, the menagerie growing in its circus silliness.

Their final was due in a few days, the only theme being “what you learned this year”, with a few sentences on what the drawing meant and what you learned.

Yuuya wasn’t sure if his drawings of the animals would cut it. The teacher often told him to focus on the actual prompts, rather than doodle whatever he wanted. Watercolouring was fun, or at least, not  _ that  _ hard, so maybe he could do that?

“Hey Yuuto,” Yuuya said, walking with Yuuto home. Who knew they lived so close by? “I’m gonna paint a sunset, what are you doing?”

Yuuto shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure exactly. Hey, can I join you? I think I focus best when you’re around.”

A big smile grew on Yuuya’s face. “Hey! I was just  _ about  _ to invite you! And of course you can!”

The two sat on the rooftop of Yuuya’s building, snacks between them provided by Yuuya’s mom, who unfortunately asked if this was “the boy Yuuya was always talking about so fondly”. Yuuto, fortunately, just laughed it off.

The page was quickly divided by the horizon line, Yuuya left to figure how the rest of the drawing would go. Unfortunately, Miami was so full of buildings. Why couldn’t he be on a farm with just a few hills or mountains? He charted a few buildings, looking over to Yuuto to see what he was up to. Yuuto turned his paper away from Yuuya, not making eye contact. “It’s… not done.”

Yuuya nodded, still not sure why he was so against just a  _ little  _ peek. The more he mapped out, the more Yuuya wondered  _ why  _ he chose to draw this. It was too late to stop of course. His momma didn’t raise a quitter. Of course, considering his ambitions, he was sure she regretted that.

After a tiresome sketch, Yuuya finally cracked open the watercolour paint. Soft, gentle streaks tred across the watercolour paper. The orange sky, blending with some pink clouds, dipping into the blue sea. The sweet mixture made Yuuya just the tiniest bit sleepy. “You know, Yuuto,” Yuuya mused, Yuuto looking over to him, still not letting Yuuya see anything. “I really like spending time with you.” He turned to Yuuto, who was slowly stuffing his mouth with one of his mom’s cookies. “I really…  _ like-like  _ you.”

Yuuto just about dropped the cookie from his mouth, a massive blush across his face. That was something Yuuto rarely did. Blush. Yuuya always thought he looked cute with a little blush. “Oh… I… feel similarly.”

The use of ‘similar’ rather than ‘same’ stuck out to Yuuya. “Oh, don’t worry, you don’t have to feel the same.” Yuuya switched brushes, filling in some buildings. 

“That’s… not what I meant- I-” He turned his canvas over to Yuuya. On it, the familiar purples and blacks. However, they heavily contrasted with the new green and red colours. They mixed, the cherry blending into the lavender, the shamrock with the midnight. “I, don’t really know how to describe my feelings, but I…”

Yuuya just smiled. “We’ll take it one brush stroke at a time.”

Yuuto nodded, pulling out a lined piece of paper. On it, he only needed to write one sentence to explain his piece:

“ _ This art class, I learned how to love again. _ ”


End file.
